"You're such an ungrateful man. How paranoid!"
Joanna walked out of the chamber in a huff, unable to stop herself from cursing out loud.
She must be crazy. Why bother being kind to him? She was angering herself for nothing. With this much time, she could have gone home to enjoy a bath, catch up on a show, and eat and drink.
Luke had been waiting outside, and when he saw Joanna coming out of the memorial chamber, he hurriedly greeted her. "Miss Pierce? Why so quick?"
"That ungrateful man is accusing and upsetting me. Why should I stay?"
"How is that possible?"
Luke continued begging shamelessly, "You know Master Moran's nature. He's stubborn and harsh but doesn't actually mean it. Please help him. Urge him to eat and treat his wounds, or he might just not get through the night."
"I refuse!" Joanna gritted her teeth, her face tense. "He said his life or death had nothing to do with me!"
"Oh, no! Master Moran fell…" Luke shouted anxiously, "Miss Pierce, help! He'll die at this rate!"
Joanna shut her eyes, stomped her foot, and turned around to go back. She thought, 'Ace, I must have owed it to you in my past life!'
Ace did fall to the ground. His forehead was clammy, enduring the pain from the whipping.
"Why are you back? Get out!"
Ace was still arrogant even when he was this weak.
"Shut up! You idiot!" Joanna directly stripped Ace's clothes without saying a word more.
Ace had strong shoulders with perfectly toned muscles on his broad back. The whip marks on his slightly tanned skin gave him a kind of charm.
"Ahem!"
Joanna's mouth watered at the scene. She gulped and cleared her throat in an attempt to cover up her racing heart.
Although weak, the sharp-eyed Ace had a clear mind and he easily saw through Joanna's
attraction to him. "Woman. You enjoyed touching and pinching me so much the last time. Are you trying to take advantage of me again?" he asked with a cold face.
"What a narcissist! You talk too much!"
Joanna's face changed. She was so angry that she accidentally spilt a large amount of ointment on Ace's wound.
Ace frowned from the pain and was dripping sweat. Soon, a coolness surrounded him that gradually eased the pain. His wounds no longer hurt as much as they did.
Joanna continued treating his wounds, this time more gently than before. Ace's furrowed brows slowly relaxed.
Joanna's fingers were slender and soft. When she stroked his back, it felt like his feathers were getting ruffled, sending a tickling sensation that went straight to his heart.
"That's great! Master Moran is rarely so docile, but Mrs. Moran always has a way!"
Luke, who was hiding outside the chamber, quietly peeked into the chamber and muttered to himself.
In their three years of marriage, this was the first time he was seeing Master and Mrs. Moran being so harmonious and warm. The extraordinary moment moved him to tears.
Suddenly, Luke felt an oppressive aura looming from from behind He looked back and almost had a heart attack.
"M-m-master…"
"What are you doing sneaking around in the middle of the night?" Old Mr. Moran questioned
with a cold face.
"Master, it's… It's not what you think. Mrs. Moran, she…" Luke stammered, trying to explain himself.
Old Mr. Moran looked away and said, "I don't know what you're trying to say, but I didn't see anything."
After that, Old Mr. Moran left as if nothing had happened, but he could not hide the smile on his face.
Luke then came to a sudden realization.
'Amazing! That's brilliant!' Luke thought to himself. Old Mr. Moran's tactics were clearly brilliant. As expected, the older you got, the wiser you became!
As the week went by, Joanna quickly adapted to her new single life. Although work kept her busy during the day, her nights would be filled with amusement and fun. Indeed, she was thoroughly enjoying her new-found freedom.
Just today, she finally signed a new contract with Starlight Group for the next financial period.
Joe Brown readily agreed to Joanna's request to invest 500 million in Stellar Group as a research and development fund. However, Stellar Group had to guarantee a profit that exceeded 8 billion in the first year, or they would have to hand Starlight Group 30% of their company's equity as compensation, in accordance with the contract.
The terms quickly drew Liam's ire.
"Joe Brown is one cunning fox. After all that help from him, I thought he would have shown a modicum of sincerity for the sake of his late daughter. Instead, this contract is full of traps. I can see what he's up to!"
Liam looked at Joanna in confusion. If he could, he wanted to ruin the contract. "Boss, this is such a humiliating contract. Why did you sign it? It's only worth 500 million. Can't we afford that? Isn't he looking down on us?"
Unlike Liam, Joanna seemed pleased. "If we lose, we lose thirty percent of our equity. If we win, we'll get invested in us for five consecutive years, no less than 1.5 billion annually. I think that's fair and sincere."
"Sincere?! Stellar Group is still a business in its infancy. The company has no products under its name yet. Do you know how ridiculous it is to make 8 billion annual profit in the tech industry?"
Liam held his forehead, looking worried. "The top three technology companies in the world average about 15 billion profit annually. It's already a blessing that a startup like ours earns 800 million a year. How are we supposed to win? Won't we be giving up thirty percent equity to South Group for nothing?"
Joanna raised her eyebrows slightly, still smiling confidently. "Have I ever lost a bet?"
Such confidence might appear arrogant or conceited to others, but it seemed just right for Joanna. Her dazzling charisma and confidence enchanted Liam so much that he could not take his eyes off her.
"Right. You're my boss. All the big players want you to serve them and are still finding for you. You've kept a low profile for years, and I've almost forgotten your identity. You'll never lose!"
Liam was a long-time fan of Joanna's and admired her a lot. However, he quickly added,
Except for your marriage with Ace, of course."
Joanna was irked. Liam was so annoying. Why did he bring that up again?
Although annoying, Liam was right. All her life, Joanna had never lost until Ace came, which was unpleasant and unforgettable!
"Anyway, our successful cooperation with Starlight Group would be a huge blow to the Moran Group. Mr. Iceberg is probably fuming…"
Liam could not hide his glee as he looked forward to Ace's reaction. "I wonder how he'll react when he finds out his hated ex-wife is the actual person behind Stellar Group. Haha… He'll probably explode!"
At the same time, the atmosphere in the president's office in the Moran Group was anxious and tense.
Jack stared at the thick pile of documents next to Ace and shook in trepidation. "Mr. Moran, we never expected Mrs. Moran to do this… she's usually so kind… It's so… shocking!"